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Add some baking soda in the wash to neutralize the smell and for a rinse agent, use white vinegar and then do a second rinse with some downy. For their baskets - spray with lysol. Shoes are a big issue in our house but we make sure we by cloth based sneakers and leather based other shoes as the plastic shoes hold smells worse. We also spray with a vinegar/water solution inside the shoe once a week.

If they are super stinky, add your detergent & a cup of baking soda to the washer as it fills, then stop it when it's filled up and add the clohtes. Let the clothes soak in the washer for an hour, then turn it back on and let it finish the wash cycle. The baking soda will absorb the super stinkiness.

If they are just regular stinky, then add a 1/2 cup of baking soda and a 1/2 cup of white vinegar to every load to absorb the odors.

Answer by
Anonymous
at 2:22 PM on Jun. 10, 2010

I use 20 Mule Team Borax for stinky laundry (diapers, or baby spit-up, workout clothes, anything our sick old cat pees on). I fill the washer with warm water & detergent, then add a scoop of borax and the clothes. I leave the lid up so the wash cycle will stop and sit overnight after it swishes for a while. Then I shut the lid in the morning so the cycle will finish like normal. The Borax is only a few dollars for a big box, and you can get it at Target, Walmart, etc.

Believe it or not, pour a half a can of coke in the wash and it takes the smell totally out. I have a friend who's husband is a mechanic and his clothes reek of grease and it's the only thing she has found that ever worked.